OCR Text |
Show one-half of the time has been a failure. Owing to the fact that there are no hill or mountain streams in this ciountry, irrigation is impracti-cable. In connection with the above-named subject, and embodying in substance what is said in other reports, attention is called to the following extract of a report made t,o Agent Miles by Mr. J. A. Coving-ton, farmer at the Cheyenne and Arapaho Agency, who has resided iu I the Territory for ten years: As the spring opened early, with plenty of rain and wrrm weather, the Indian stook mas in a condition to work muoh sooner thso usual, snd the rewlt waa a much l a r ~ e r area was prepared than usnal for the seed, and havino been enabled by an early requi-sition for seed to supply all who were ready, no delay was exp'erienced, snd the crops of oorn and vegetables were planted in good condition early iu the season, end p1eur.i-fnl cropsof all kinds were almost assured. The ground plowed and planted embraee~l all of last year's tillage,and 60olO fewnew farmswere opened op; these newloeatiunli were mostly oo the Canadian River, a few, however, were on the north fork of Caaa-dian. Agency amploy6s, under dirsotioo, planted 90 aeree of corn and 39 acres of mil-let, nnd the entire agenoy farm sod mission manual-labor tract &era inolosed with n substantial post and hoard fence, the logs being cot and haolrd to agency saw-nlill, where they were converted into lumber, and the posts, whiah were of cedar, h s i ~ g haoled a dintance of 15 miles on the Csusdisn River. However, "man proposes and God disposes." The extreme hest and drought from'whioh this country has suffered so saverelg the present season get in sady in Jone, and from that time until the middle of Joly we had abaolutaly no rain, and as a matter of conrse the crops are s total arltl complete failtilnre, end early vegetables only aboot half mstured. This is a hemy dia-oppoincment to our Indian farmers, whs had mnch the best prospect for oorn evsr realized before. The sgeoay field, although plowed late and thoroughly cnltivatecl three different times, is almost a complete failure, there not being corn suffioient to pay for gathering, and the millet also, whioh was sowed in excellent condition, dried np immediately after spmut,iog, and is a complete failore. If further evidence were wanting in regard to t h i ~oo ontry hniog a failore aa art agricl~ltural country thisseason vunld furnish it, but in the light of the experience gained during o residence of ten years in thi. country, we say without hesitation thut owing to the uncertainty of the seasons that agrioultore cannot he relied upon as ib source of living, sod the sooner the Indisrs turn their attention to pasturage, and tha I ral.s.ln g o. f stook the more immediate will be the benefits and the less burdensome their disappointments. If, then, instead of agriculture, the Indians could be induced to en-ga, ge in stock-raising to any great exteut it would be necessary, at least at some of the agencies, to issue full rations (instead of one-half and three-fourthsrations as at present), so that there would beno deficiency to be made good by the killing of their stock to satisfy the cravings of hunger, and this shoold oont,iune until such time as they wuld become, by the increase of their stock, self-supporting. With proper encourage-ment in this clirection, added to the already acquired industries of many of the I ~ ~ d i aonfs t his Territory, iuclndiug freighting, brick-mak. ing, lime and charcoal bnrning, stone-hauling, &c., it is believed that t,he time is not far distant when even the "wild tribes." will become as the 6ve civilized tribes have already become, self-supporting and inde-pendent. The five civilized tribes of Union Agency (Cherokees, Ohi<kasaws, |